TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
I am one of the Indian writers on this list. I've
spent the early part of my career in India and I now
live and work in the U.S.
I have a question and an observation based on personal
experience.
First the question, I'm not sure I understood the
context of the remark in paranthesis (As you know,
there's a considerable amount of racism out there....
warn them about.) Could you elaborate?
Now the observation. I worked in India for an Indian
company and for the last few years I work for an
American Company in the U.S. I find that my American
colleagues expect me to understand American culture
and fit in accordingly, which is perfectly natural.
Yes, they do seek to find out about other countries
and cultures but that does not translate into changing
their actions to fit Indian etiquette and customs when
they are dealing with me. They also do not expect me
to remind them of cultural differences when they do
not as me to do so. For instance, a colleague who was
leaving the company parted with a bear hug. It wasn't
an appropriate moment to give him a cultural
sensitivity tip. The tip being men in India avoid
close physical contact with women unless they are
family. It may be wise to go with the flow of the
country or culture one finds oneself in unless
explicitly asked to do otherwise.
The other side of this equation was my early
experience working in India. We had colleagues,
partners, clients and others visiting or working with
us in India. Group efforts were set in motion to raise
cultural sensitivity. We were expected to adapt our
conduct as far as possible to fit in with his or her
cultural etiquette. The visitors for the most part
also seemed to expect us to adapt somewhat.
The existence of this equation dawned on me after I
started working for an American Company and it struck
me as a little lopsided.
Amanda, enjoy your trip the biggest threat as someone
mentioned earlier would be cab drivers (taxi and
rickshaw drivers) ripping you off and over indulgence
in Kerala's excellent sea food. Customs officials
aren't going to fuss about your papers or try to
detain you overnight. All of the basic institutions
and services are very sound and stable. Like you said,
there are places in every country and city that are
unsafe. Common sense and a little advance inquiry will
fix that.
> Amanda Abelove wondered: <<And that was the other
> side of it... the
> company wants to teach requirements writing
> offshore. It seems to me
> you can't write up requirements for a system
> remotely from the customer
> site...>>
>
> Sure you can... it's just more difficult and takes
> longer. The simple
> Rube Goldberg way to accomplish this is to set up an
> instant messaging
> ("chat") session using your favorite software, and
> keep the chat window
> open on one part of your screen. You can then use
> anything from a Web
> page that you update and re-upload manually (to
> reflect the ongoing
> state of your revised design) to a Wiki or other
> online collaboration
> tool to handle the revision and update more
> elegantly.
>
> This suggests you should re-ask your question here
> to find out how
> other techwhirlers are doing this kind of
> long-distance collaboration
> so you can include that in teaching your course.
>
> Also, as noted in my previous message, there are
> going to be cultural
> differences, and you'll need to teach your Indian
> colleagues a fair bit
> about Western etiquette. (As you know, there's a
> considerable amount of
> racism out there, combined with resentment over jobs
> being offshored,
> so perhaps that's one of the unpleasant things
> you'll need to warn them
> about.) We Westerners have a somewhat deserved
> reputation for being
> rude and etiquette-free in contrast with other
> cultures, but all
> cultures, including ours, have written and unwritten
> rules. (You
> shouldn't be the only one who learns something about
> other cultures
> during this exchange! <g>)
>
> A great way to do this is to role-play a typical
> situation. You come up
> with a design that your Indian students are going to
> have to interview
> you to learn. Pay close attention to anything that
> makes you even the
> slightest bit uncomfortable as you respond to their
> interview
> questions: the discomfort is a hint that the student
> may have
> transgressed some unspoken American cultural
> assumption, and with some
> thought, you can figure out what that is and teach
> it.
>
> There are several Indian tech writers on this list,
> so why not take an
> opportunity to ask them for advice on this topic. It
> should be very
> revealing, and of interest to all of us if the
> discussion can be kept
> civil!
>
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> - - - - - - - --
> Geoff Hart ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca
> (try geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com if you don't get a reply)
> www.geoff-hart.com
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> - - - - - - - - -
>
>
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word features support
> for every major Help
> format plus PDF, HTML and more. Flexible, precise,
> and efficient content
> delivery. Try it today!.
>http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
>
> Doc-To-Help includes a one-click RoboHelp project
> converter. It's that easy. Watch the demo at
>http://www.componentone.com/TECHWRL/DocToHelp2005
>
> ---
> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as
> JayshreeRice -at- yahoo -dot- com -dot-
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> techwr-l-unsubscribe -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> or visit
> http://lists.techwr-l.com/mailman/options/techwr-l/jayshreerice%40yahoo.com
>
> To subscribe, send a blank email to
> techwr-l-join -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>
> Send administrative questions to lisa -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-
> Visit
>http://www.techwr-l.com/techwhirl/ for more
> resources and info.
>
>
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
WebWorks ePublisher Pro for Word features support for every major Help
format plus PDF, HTML and more. Flexible, precise, and efficient content
delivery. Try it today!. http://www.webworks.com/techwr-l
